Self-care. Who-cares. We-care.
What are some activities you can do for self-care?
DO NOTHING. FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE...SIT STILL.
THANK THAT STRESS AND ANXIETY FOR SHARING, BUT LET THEM KNOW YOU'RE TAKING A BREAK TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR GD SELF. (BREATHE, WE ARE NOT YELLING, WE ARE PASSIONATE.)
Take a bath, heck listen to your favorite podcast in the bath; just add salt. Seriously, don't forget the bath salts. Find a bath salt to support you here. Find your mood. Spend your energy wisely.
Make a snack. Make one for you and one for a friend, or a stranger. Don't phone it in.
Drink more water. (Listen, we hate to break it to you. Yup, every day of your life.)
Sit with a cat, lower your blood pressure. PURR ENERGY. PERIOD. FACT. Or take a cat nap?
Oh, what are you a dog person? How'd you find this website? Kidding. Sit your dang body next to a doggo then. Don't let us meowsters make you feel any type of way.
What are 5 things you can do for self-care daily?
Hell, make a day of it! I mean, you could. For your health!
Ritual (an intentional moment or meditation routine)
Rinse (shower, wash off the day, hydrate your skin)
Repeat (spend time with whatever makes you feel in a positive mood)
Rest (free your mind, let your body's energy sink into the bed, and sleep!)
What are 7 things to do for a focus on physical self-care?
Walk, jog, run for your life! Kidding. (Dad jokes are routine around here.)
SIT PROPERLY. Or see a chiropractor to find out why you are not.
Stretch your body, and feel the fun (burn) all the way down to your funny bone. Then walk it out.
Leave your phone at home and go on a nature hike with a friend (who will bring their phone for safety reasons), and maybe bring a meal.
Listen to music and dance your ass off. Let's get physical, physical...
Exercise in whatever physical way you like, or try something new. Walk in place, hell.
Watch a soccer match, and pretend you played. It's a mood.
Let's count on some more shit.
Drink a carafe of coffee in bed. And play some coffee house-type music for yourself. Create your space. Not just with a morning routine.
Make a cup of tea, then reheat it 30 minutes later because you forgot that you made a cup of tea. Then drink it, lift that cup for crying out loud.
Spend time with friends, not just with the thoughts in your brain.
Read a book. Write a book for all we care. Create something.
Meditate. Or record your own guided meditation!
Watch a movie you haven't seen since you were a kid, or go see some art in real life.
How do you train yourself to do self-care?
Set your week (and weeks) up for success. Structure your time within a calendar that allows space and ideas for self-care. Schedule it! Support your little nervous system (big nervous system) with tender self-care not just some social media time suck, hey look at us with new ideas.
Schedule it!
What else are you going to do, hope it happens every day. How about having a sleep schedule too? Exercise your adult rights, and throw in a sleep meditation while you start to unwind in bed.
How does self-care play into mental health?
What does the movement have to do with physical and mental health? Exactly. The best self-care routine is one in which you engage with yourself and others, whether it's things you love or simply the benefits of a break in your day.
Can't sleep? Maybe it's stress. Can't focus? Maybe it's emotional. Can't exercise? Phone a friend. Tell your friends how you are doing, and ask them how their day is!
Have we mentioned breathwork yet?
Geez, Louise. Spend time breathing into your body, it could be fun, or no fun, but either way it'll help you regulate your nervous system away from anxiety, away from stress, with a focus on emotional support from trauma responses.
This article is about this if not anything else. Go where the warmth is, and focus on where the benefits are in your life. Your friends may not always be available to support you through a moment of anxiety, but you always have access to your breath (and it's free).
Any other ideas for self-care? No worries, here are more of our self-care ideas:
Take care of your doctor's appointments. Get in touch with your service providers and schedule those annuals folks and write it down. Get your dang teeth cleaned and look at yourself in the mirror with that post-clean glow. Preventative measures will make you feel positive and good that you ARE taking good care of yourself and your mental health.
Positive vibes only or whatever.
Learn how to cook your favorite food: Sign up for a class or attend YouTube University for more ideas. Then invite your friends over to enjoy said food. Set the ambiance with soft music; it's a must.
Take care of yourself (AND in service to others) if you can.
If I practice self-care am I guaranteed better mental health?
Well, the odds are in your favor. Taking any action is better than no action. When you can take the pressure off of yourself to do your whole "to-do" list in one day or one week, you'll feel more freedom to again schedule structure in your life.
The nature of the brain is to complete tasks and find more tasks and ideas and complete those and so on. And that is without coffee or matcha or the vast varieties of tea that exist today.
What is a good self-care routine?
Create routines for yourself, and also allow nature to do its business without you in the way trying to change it for your physical health. Have a backup plan for your best self-care too in case the weather changes and you need to choose another activity for your mind/body/spirit health.
Buy yourself a flower or ten dozen. Heck, make it an edible arrangement of sorts...anyone else food motivated? Word a good meal into your day, do it.
To submit your own cat photos for our blog, please write to info@breathworkforrecovery.com, even if you do it from the bath.
Take a moment to turn off your phone, take your brain for a walk, and the moment you turn that phone back on...listen to new music (we're giving you permission)!
Week-to-week you are going to create new ways of engaging your brain and body with positive activities that could be better suited for your mental health, and physical health.
We could write ideas for self-care until we're blue in the face, so let us know what you practice or what you're struggling with.
We're here to listen, get you to breathe, and hopefully inspire you to spend a few minutes to focus your energy brainstorming about a different self-care routine for yourself if you need that. Or discuss and write these concepts over your next meal.
